September 4th, 2018 by WCBC Radio
This past weekend saw the first legal sports betting ticket sold in West Virginia, as Hollywood Casino in Charles Town became the first of five state casinos to offer sports betting. Unfortunately it may be two years or more before Maryland can begin to derive any similar benefits. The effort went from passage of legislation to legalize sports betting in West Virginia on March 9 to a May 14 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a federal ban on sports betting in most jurisdictions to rebuffing attempts by Gov. Jim Justice to impose "integrity" fees sought by professional sports leagues to the launch date – all in less than six months. Maryland’s General Assembly had the same opportunity to approve legislation to legalize sports betting- but the effort got bogged down in politics and never got out of committee. Delegate Jason Buckel tells WCBC News that all of the neighboring states will see millions of dollars in new revenue- while Maryland- including the Rocky Gap Casino- will be left sitting on the sidelines…
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